Grinding to a halt: Penn State needs more, much more, from the running game

The longest run by a tailback is 14 yards, courtesy of fifth-year senior Derek Day.

Penn State's offense has missed the talents of starting tailback Bill Belton the last two games. Belton is out with an ankle injury and the Lions' running game has yet to produce of play of at least 20 yards. JOE HERMITT, The Patriot-NewsJOE HERMITT, The Patriot-News

Chunk plays.

That's the term Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien uses for explosive plays, or plays that gain significant yards from scrimmage. Typically, you're talking about plays of 20 yards or more.

O'Brien's Lions are getting better at creating chunk plays in the passing game as the relationship between fifth-year senior quarterback Matt McGloin and sophomore wideout Allen Robinson continues to develop.

Robinson produced three of them in the Lions' 34-7 win over Navy -- catches of 45, 45 and 25 yards -- and Penn State, by my count, has generated nine in three games with a home game against Temple looming Saturday.

Carson rambled 19 yards with a fake punt against Virginia and Bench scrambled for 15 yards in that same game, or else PSU's meager rushing total -- the Lions are averaging 107.7 yards per contest, 102nd among FBS programs -- would be even more meager.

The longest run by a tailback is 14 yards, courtesy of fifth-year senior Derek Day. Sophomore Bill Belton's long gain before he injured his ankle against Ohio was 8 yards. Redshirt junior Curtis Dukes, the fan base's favorite, has a long gain of 10 yards in his 21 carries.

This telling stat an issue that O'Brien and his assistants continue to address but given the tailback choices, you wonder how much more explosive the Lions' run game will be in the final nine games.

A healthy return by Belton will help. But zero "chunk" plays after three games is troubling.

Last season, the Lions produced 11 runs of 20-plus yards and the 2011 offense was not very good. Leading the way, of course, was former tailback Silas Redd, who had six of those runs (42, 42, 25, 24, 24 and 21 yards).

Robinson's emergence -- he has 24 catches and four scores -- makes him the top priority for opposing defenses and with no real threat in PSU's run game, you can expect him to receive more attention. Foes will try and make it tougher on McGloin and Robinson to connect. If they do, where is this offense headed without more oomph from the run game?

I think it's fair to assume that O'Brien knew he was going to go through some tough times with his run game once Redd left for USC. There is no proven tailback on the roster and it remains to be seen whether the 202-pound Belton is really built to carry it 15-20 times a game.

But if not Belton, then who?

O'Brien and the Lions have bigger worries. But I bet the head coach is concerned about the explosiveness of his running game.

When your starting middle linebacker and your backup quarterback have produced the two longest runs after three games, it's a problem.